Former Miami Heat shooting guard Dion Waiters is in the running to land a coveted spot on the Los Angeles Lakers roster and so far he hasn't done anything to hinder his chances. According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, Waiters "had an impressive showing" during his workout with the Lakers on Monday and the next step is for him to meet with head coach Frank Vogel and the Lakers brass.
The Heat signed Waiters to a four-year, $52 million extension in July of 2017 but he has appeared in a total of 74 games since then, including a grand total of three appearances this season.
The 28-year old veteran was suspended multiple times this year for a variety of reasons, including an incident where he ate too many edibles, complaining about playing time and another for "failure to adhere to team policies, violation of team rules and continued insubordination." Despite his issues with the Heat, Waiters is on the short list of players who could potentially replace Troy Daniels on the Lakers bench.
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In addition to Waiters, another potential candidate to join the Lakers is LeBron James' former teammate, JR Smith. The 34-year old shooting guard is also expected to workout for the team this week - assuming they don't offer Waiters the contract outright following his impressive performance.
Smith appeared in just 11 games for the Cleveland Cavaliers last season before hitting the free agent market, where he has remained ever since.
Lakers, Dion Waiters Signing Still Alive: Next Meeting Revealed
Los Angeles Lakers considering signing free agent shooting guard Dion Waiters as the two sides set meeting for March 2nd.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Dion Waiters have reportedly arranged for a second meeting on March 2nd, according to Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes (H/T Marc Stein). The news comes just days after ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported that the two sides met last week with plans to set up a workout in the near future.
"I don't know if Dion Waiters is an answer," said Brian Windhorst on The Hoop Collective podcast (H/T RealGM). "They're going to give Dion a look. They had a meeting with him last week. I expect they will have a workout with him in the short-term and see what kind of condition he's in. They're mulling it over and it's because they need some sort of perimeter player who can score a little bit."
Waiters, 28, was traded from the Miami Heat to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of the Andre Iguodala deal, but was waived immediately thereafter. As noted by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Waiters was formerly represented by Lakers President and GM Rob Pelinka, and he is currently signed with Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, which reps for LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The Heat signed Waiters to a four-year, $52 million extension in July of 2017, but he has appeared in a total of 74 games since then. He was suspended multiple times this season for a variety of reasons, including an incident where he ate too many edibles, complaining about playing time and another for "failure to adhere to team policies, violation of team rules and continued insubordination."
For his career, Waiters boasts career averages of 13.2 points, 2.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds per night.
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